Every year, nearly 200,000 skiers drive from the UK to the slopes in Austria or Switzerland. And a sizeable part of the budget of the holiday will be the fuel needed to make the journey. Until now! Volvo invited UK journalists to take part in its latest eco-driving challenge – driving a new Volvo S60 or V60 DRIVe model from Marlow to Mayrhofen in Austria ... on one tank of fuel! And why Mayrhofen? 

Volvo Snowbombing

It is the venue for Volvo Snowbombing, the award-winning music festival regarded by many as 'The greatest show on snow'.  This year's headline acts are Fatboy Slim and the Prodigy. With the S60 delivering 65.7mpg and only 114g/km CO2 and the V60 at 62.8mpg and 119g/km CO2, the cars have a theoretical tank range of 975 miles so it is technically possible to complete the challenge on one tank of fuel. 

Guests departed from Volvo HQ in Marlow and economic driving techniques were in full force as journalists compared driving styles –

the competition was on!! Congratulations to Paul Clarke, Green Car Guide and Matt Joy, Press Association who won the challenge and arrived with minimal fuel to spare! It was then time for guests to enjoy the fun of Snowbombing with some fast paced skiing and snowboarding action followed by fantastic performances by acts that included Magnetic Man, Professor Green and Example.

Brief:

Raise awareness of Fuel-Cell concept Vehicle in UK

Whistle stop worldwide tour – available for just five days

Informative, educational event, maximising journalist access to vehicle

To find a central London location

Nissan FCV Event

Experiential Retail Promotion Support, resulting in 630% increase in sales on the day

Focus Energy Shots were on promotion in Waitrose, Canary Wharf

To raise awareness of the benefits of the product, and increase sales of Focus within Waitrose we needed a high energy, low cost mechanism to draw attention, instantly communicate the Focus message and encourage sales

We developed a Focus branded Batak Focus challenge just outside the entrance to Waitrose, to test speed of reaction and concentration.  A prize was awarded to the fastest reaction time

We organised and managed the experiential, liaising with the Shopping Centre management and Boots marketing team, produced the branded Batak and attended the promotional event

Experiential product launch:

Focus Energy shots were new to the UK, representing a new way to boost energy for several hours

Competition was fierce fromsome heavy hitting, well established brands, so with a fairly limited budget we needed to make an impact and hit the streets with samples

Timing: April 2010

Theme: Linked to London Marathon – boost your energy after a heavy weekend!

Tactic: Targeting busy commuters on their way to and from work the Friday before the Marathon and the Monday afterwards

Location: Central London stations those with the heaviest commuter footfall

Focus Energy Shots

Teams of actors and promotional staff were dressed in the striking Focus colours

Armed with their ‘shot’ belts (usually used for Tequila shots in bars), they handed out Focus shots, transported around London on Focus branded cycle rickshaws

Hugely successful sampling exercise, supported with PR and social media activity, achieving wide ranging media and online coverage

Challenge:  to encourage A-list journalists and their families to experience the new Peugeot 5008 MPV, in a creative fun way that communicated its many attributes

Timing: December 2009

Theme: Famous 5008

Location: The Look Out, Bracknell, Windmill

By turning the first drive of the 5008 people carrier into a Famous Five adventure for the journalists and their families, it immediately gave everybody a positive, fun feeling about the car.

Solving clues to find their next destination meant the launch became an interactive experience for the whole family, helping journalists develop feelings and views about the car influenced by their wife and kids.

Peugeot 5008

A packed lunch in a Kata complete with roaring logfire, next to a windmill in the middle of nowhere added to the entire Famous Five experience.

A huge success with What Car voting the 5008 as their favourite MPV after the event and high profile national media coverage driving consumer interest in the car one month before its dealer launch.

We find the best venues to provide the perfect backdrop to showcase brands, products and services. 

We’ve held events in newly refurbished hotels, castles, holiday parks, pubs, windmills, clubs, Michelin star restaurants and even a field!

Venues are chosen with the utmost care, based on carefully considered criteria, with a flair for finding new, exciting places to host events.

Pukka Places

New product launch

A powerful theme was vital to ensure the car was seen by the media as a credible rival to its competitors

Timing: January 2009

Theme: i20 - the Intelligent Choice

Hyundai i20

Tactic: To use an ‘intelligence’ theme to launch the car to the media

Location 1: Bletchley Park, National Codes and Cipher Centre for lunch and tour of WW2 Codebreakers exhibition

Location 2: Madingley College, Cambridge, for dinner and game of giant Trivial Pursuits, before an overnight stay in the Hall of Residence, which were personalised and themed

The car’s key attributes were communicated throughout the launch, including in the Trivial Pursuit questions, generating positive review coverage from the media guests that picked up on these and the theme.

Brief:

To host an intimate media and celebrity party including cocktails, canapés and luxury pampering

To launch Scott Cornwall as the resident hair expert at the exclusive revamped look Stoke Park Salon, bringing celebrity style

Stoke Park

salon techniques and ‘Red Carpet’ glamour to Buckinghamshire

To raise Scott’s profile as a credible hair expert ahead of launching his new Bringing the Salon Home product range

Results:

25 media guests attended including: Daybreak, Express, OK, Celebs on Sunday, Heat, Style Mag, That’s Life, Practical Parenting, Boots.com, DV8 and Exclusive

Celebrities included Gail Porter, Ali Bastian, X-Factor contestant Ruth Lorenzo and Amanda Lamb

Hugely Successful event – photographed by OK magazine

Product launch

Hyundai launched its new small city car, which had air conditioning as standard, a major USP against competitors

Timing: February 2008

Theme: To showcase this USP, we paid homage to the great British summer, creating a garden fete, complete with...

Hyundai i10 city car

inflatable pub, floating clouds, grass and sheep in an aircraft hangar

Tactic: To use two iconic venues to reinforce the car’s generous interior space and standard air conditioning features

Locations: Yotel at Gatwick Airport and BBC Top Gear Hangar, Sussex

Relevance was the name of the game. All aspects of the launch related to the i10 or Hyundai brand messages. Guests tested the car, before being transported to a secret

aircraft hangar (Top Gear TV set) for their summer party. Guests were served traditional ‘pub grub’ from ‘Ye Old Pony’ (inflatable pub) and chanced their hand at Croquet; played fete games, and visited Wimbledon, complete with strawberries and cream. Hyundai commissioned an i10 ice cream van.

Journalists labelled the launch as “the most memorable in years”.

Volvo Celebrates the Congestion Charge Change

Our Challenge

Create a memorable stunt to mark the success of Volvo’s 18-month campaign for Greener Vehicle Discount for London’s Congestion Charge on 4 Jan 2011

Volvo

Nobull Approach

• Provide a free chauffeur service to local press in vinyl wrapped sub 99g/km Volvo cars hosted at Volvo Cars Central London dealership on Jan 4
• A Boris Johnson lookalike
• Photography of vinyl wrapped Volvo’s near iconic London landmarks
• Press call for Boris Johnson lookalike in Volvo chauffeur vehicles
• Distribute leaflets detailing Volvo’s involvement in the Congestion Charge changes

Key achievements

• Three minute prime time slot on London Tonight featuring shots of Volvo cars, Boris Johnson lookalike and Volvo Head of PR, Events and Sponsorship speaking to camera
• Coverage on Telegraph.co.uk, HonestJohn, AutoWeb
• Social media buzz
• Ensuring Volvo owned the Congestion Charge change

ix20 Launch

Brief: Launch the ix20 in an interesting, memorable way in UK. To highlight key features of ix20 to journalists throughout the event. To create an overarching theme showcasing the ix20

Timing: October 2010

Theme: The ix20 fits perfectly into your life

Location: Portsmouth – Spinnaker Tower.

Hyundai

Southsea - Hover Terminal. Isle of Wight – West Bay Club

Execution: By focussing on the key features of the car – high driving position, stylish interior, compact, but with all the equipment you need, Nobull created the perfect fit ix20 event. Starting at 300ft Spinnaker Tower, guests were immediately treated to stunning sea views and a higher viewpoint. At Hyundair Departure Lounge, guests were checked in to their flight and treated to Duty Free before boarding their flight to Hyundai ix-land aboard a Hyundair Hovercraft.

Hyundai ix-land guests drove ix20 on picturesque roads of Isle of Wight, stopping for some Garlic Farm specialities; Garlic Beer and Fudge! At West Bay club, guests felt right at home in their ‘Hy Street House’ and dinner was served in the Hyundai Tailor’s Shop. Guests were treated to Barrington Ayre’s Tailor, Tom, who took measurements for their custom made tailored shirt!

Results: 50 journalists attended the event. National, regional, online, trade coverage from guests attending

Charnos 75th Diamond Anniversary

We staged a stunning celebration for our longstanding client, Charnos Hosiery for it's 75th Anniversary.

The being a diamond anniversary and a journey from iconic vintage legwear through to future collections, we chose the National History Museum as our venue, staging the Champagne reception in the Earth Treasuries, filled with gems, and the catwalk in the Earth Gallery.

Charnos 75

We used the escalator as our catwalk to great effect.

It was a huge success and the guests, who ranged from iconic designers who had worked with Charnos over the years, such as Bruce Oldfield, staff, media and customers of the brand.